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Rooster crowing

post #1 of 7
4/19/12 at 7:49am
Thread Starter 

Hello, I used to have chickens as a kid in 4h and my mom raised a few meat birds. This was back in the 60's and i think they were White leghorns. I raised Indian Rivers.

My question is: I read that on straight run chickens you get about a 50/50 mix. Will the roosters start crowing before they are ready to process?

Thanks for looking.

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post #2 of 7
4/19/12 at 8:04am
If you are talking about Cornish X, a few of ours might start to crow right at butcher time, but it was nothing like a barnyard rooster. When it comes to meat birds, the roo is the more disirable one, so straight runs usually get more hens. I order all roos. droolin.gif

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TIME is the best thing to spend on a child!
Always calibrate your hygrometer before you incubate!!

Home to Black East Indies, Mandarins, Speckled Sussex, Barred Rock, Golden Buffs, Welsummers, Ameraucanas, Black Australorp, Silver Laced Wyandotte, Two Weimaraners, Two beautiful daughters and a great DH who builds whatever I need!

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post #3 of 7
4/20/12 at 3:29pm

Kinda depends when you decide to slaughter them.... When "they're ready" is a highly variable decision...


Edited by sky the chicken man - 4/20/12 at 3:33pm
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post #4 of 7
4/20/12 at 6:17pm

Every "dual-purpose" chicken I've used for meat has been crowing before processing time.  My last hatch had roosters crowing at 5 weeks and they were getting pretty good and loud by 10-12 weeks.  We usually process extra roos around 15-20 weeks and some are definitely crowing by then. 

Married to the Perfect Guy with 3 kids and a chicken population that's becoming out of control! 

www.ChickenHues.com ......and now turkeys, too! 

See how we raise meaties - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMUE-1kzaAA&feature=plcp

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Married to the Perfect Guy with 3 kids and a chicken population that's becoming out of control! 

www.ChickenHues.com ......and now turkeys, too! 

See how we raise meaties - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMUE-1kzaAA&feature=plcp

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post #5 of 7
4/20/12 at 7:26pm

If they're dual purpose, the answer is yes.

Rachel BB
 

Well, the kittens aren't so cute anymore and the easter egger cockerels are in the freezer. Plus, I think offering them as "prizes" scared folks off! So, I'm still posting quotes, if you know it let me know. I'm very enamored of this new one, it may hang around for a while!

 

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Rachel BB
 

Well, the kittens aren't so cute anymore and the easter egger cockerels are in the freezer. Plus, I think offering them as "prizes" scared folks off! So, I'm still posting quotes, if you know it let me know. I'm very enamored of this new one, it may hang around for a while!

 

"If I'd known the world was ending I'd have brought better books"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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post #6 of 7
4/20/12 at 10:49pm

 

Quote:
Originally Posted by SIMZ View Post

Every "dual-purpose" chicken I've used for meat has been crowing before processing time.  My last hatch had roosters crowing at 5 weeks and they were getting pretty good and loud by 10-12 weeks.  We usually process extra roos around 15-20 weeks and some are definitely crowing by then. 

 

Do you feed them broiler feed? If not, what diet do you grow them on?

 

Sorry for the hijack!

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post #7 of 7
4/21/12 at 5:43am

Jubilee, We've always just fed them general starter (like Flockraiser) with the rest of the chicks.  They were usually culled as an afterthought because they were "oops" roosters or mean.  This year we will be purposely raising roosters for meat and we're still deciding how to feed them.  Due to space constraints they'll probably be raised on a general starter with the pullets until close to butchering time. 

 

 

Married to the Perfect Guy with 3 kids and a chicken population that's becoming out of control! 

www.ChickenHues.com ......and now turkeys, too! 

See how we raise meaties - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMUE-1kzaAA&feature=plcp

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Married to the Perfect Guy with 3 kids and a chicken population that's becoming out of control! 

www.ChickenHues.com ......and now turkeys, too! 

See how we raise meaties - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMUE-1kzaAA&feature=plcp

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